THE wider Mildura region is expected to return to some semblance of its historically bumper Easter weekend with flights and accommodation on track to being fully booked.
Mildura Regional Development chief executive officer Brett Millington said Sunraysia had already seen an influx of visitors over the past few weeks, which is something he expects will continue.
“The last few weekends have been particularly busy in town, for anyone who has been out and about they would have seen that,” Mr Millington said.
“We are quietly confident that it will continue.
“Things are all looking relatively positive at the moment (for Easter weekend) and with recent announcements around the Show ‘n’ Shine and the links into the Easter powersports are all looking positive and the forward bookings are all looking good.”
He expects Easter weekend will be the region’s busiest of the year.
“COVID has had an impact on people’s confidence to travel but given we are only a couple of weeks away, we are feeling confident it won’t impact us and we will be able to deliver a fantastic weekend for families,” he said.
“From what we have been told, accommodation is pretty full, caravan parks are filling up this weekend and next weekend.
“We expect to see people out and about everywhere.
“We are still quietly optimistic given what we have experienced previously, but you have got to stay positive and keep reinforcing it is a great place to visit, we have great weather and are able to put on a significant amount of events across multiple different themes, whether it be sport and recreation, motor sport or family time.”
Mr Millington said there were many reasons people enjoyed visiting Sunraysia at Easter but one major attraction was to visit family and friends.
“Forty per cent of visitors are visiting a family or friend, so the best advocates for being a tourist in our town are the people who live here,” he said.
“It’s a pretty diverse calendar which is a great thing about it, there are so many different events that are on; whether it be from clay target shooting to speedway and bikes, rowing regattas or tennis tournaments.
“Obviously the big Mildura 100 ski race is a big loss to us, but there are a number of other things and it frees up the opportunity for other activities to occur on the river.”
An “iconic” tourist attraction that usually sees thousands of people on the river over Easter is a cruise on one of the Mildura paddle steamers.
While things are a little different this year with only the paddle vessel Rothbury and the paddle boat Mundo operating, Mildura Paddle Steamers marketing manager Ashton McKenzie expects it still to be a busy weekend.
“We usually would run multiple boats but at the moment is still not economically viable to operate the Paddle Steamer (PS) Melbourne,” she said.
“It is still a slow and steady comeback, but the more tourism picks up and people get the confidence to travel, the more we can see it will pick up again soon.”
Despite people leaving bookings to the last minute, Ms McKenzie has taken numerous large bookings.
“It has really picked up, we have lots of forward bookings already with a lot of family groups travelling from far away in groups of 10 to 15 people and have a few starting to book out,” she said.
“We haven’t put on any extra cruises yet but we do intend to as there is more demand for the bookings.
“It is usually one of the biggest periods, it’s not as of yet but we are finding due to the current circumstances people are leaving things to the last minute in case there are any snap lockdowns.”
Ms McKenzie said those who have already booked will be travelling from South Australia, regional NSW, Sydney and regional Victoria.
“(The boats) are an iconic attraction to Mildura, the river is so beautiful and expansive compared to other sections of the river to travel on,” Ms McKenzie said.
“We have been here for a long time, everyone knows the sounds of the paddle boat and for families that come to visit, it’s one of the first things to do as we are an all-round attraction.
“It’s perfect for any type of weather and we meet lots of different target market needs with the cruises catering to families, individuals and couples.”
The popular Easter weekend that will kick off with the Easter Powersports Show ‘n’ Shine on Good Friday, contributes an estimated $10 million to Sunraysia’s economy each year.
